Vieux Lyon (Old Town)

Renaissance architecture, traditional bouchons, lots of tourists. Safe during the day with families everywhere, but pickpockets work the crowds. Good for seeing the old town and trying Lyonnaise food, though you won't get much sense of what Lyon is actually like now.

Vieux Lyon is Europe's biggest Renaissance district - cobblestone streets, traboules (covered passageways), buildings from the 1500s. During the day you get tour groups, families at museums, people looking for traditional bouchons with quenelles and andouillette. Rue Saint-Jean area fills up with tourists taking photos of colorful buildings and checking out shops. Eating alone doesn't stand out since the restaurants expect international visitors, and staff usually speak English. You'll see Tourist Police around, families walking in the evening when the restaurants are lit up. But this is Lyon's main tourist zone, so pickpockets work the crowds - especially near the cathedral and busy streets. A lot of the traboules that used to be open to the public got locked because of security issues. After 10pm the crowds disappear. It's still fine to walk around, but everything tourist-oriented closes and you'll want to go elsewhere for anything late-night. Good for daytime wandering and traditional dinners, but this won't show you what contemporary Lyon is like.